Chemistry—Our Health, Our Future!
A Water Park Adventure
An Educational Hands-On Demonstration Package
Prepared by the
National Chemistry Week Committee
of the
Cleveland Section of the American Chemical Society
for
National Chemistry Week 2011
Overview
This year our hands-on demonstration program explores chemistry as it
relates to our bodies and our health. Our mythical characters, Milli and
Avogadro, visit a water park and learn about clean water and some of its
properties as they enjoy a day of swimming. After an accident in which
Milli falls on the wet concrete, breaks her finger and bruises her arm, they
learn that chemistry can come to the rescue to help put her finger in a cast
and to care for some other minor injuries that she suffered.
Table of Contents
Page
Information and Checklists
3
Experiment List
8
Required Supplies
10
Experimental Setup
14
Program
19
Closing Session
40
Take Home Materials and Clean-up Procedures
41
Acknowledgments
The National Chemistry Week (NCW) programs of the Cleveland Section ACS began in
1994 with an idea to put together a scripted program that could be performed at any local school
or library. This idea has expanded to become the centerpiece of the Cleveland Section's NCW
activities. On several occasions it has received national recognition from the American
Chemical Society. In 2011, the Cleveland Section‘s volunteers will perform about 50
demonstrations at libraries, schools, and other public sites. Also during the year we inaugurated
another Outreach Program in which our volunteers participated in NCW-related programs at area
events in which various experiments from previous years were demonstrated.
Our NCW efforts reach many students each year because of various sponsors who have
donated money, materials, and/or services to the Cleveland Section specifically for National
Chemistry Week. We would like to especially thank our partners at the Cuyahoga County Public
Library (CCPL) for the use of their facilities and for creating flyers, our NCW Introductory video
and the video demonstrating this program. Graftech International Corporation generously
contributed materials to this program, and we extend our thanks to them. We also extend our
thanks to John Carroll University, NASA Glenn Research Center, and other anonymous sponsors
for their numerous contributions and support.
Last and most important, we thank all the volunteers who donated their time and
expertise. This library/school program and other NCW events are the result of the hard work of
many dedicated and talented volunteers. It all starts with our local section NCW Planning
Committee. The Committee recommends, tests, and reviews activities & experiments; writes a
script including a story line to hold the attention of small children; collects supplies and
materials; prepares the kits; recruits sponsors and volunteers; contacts libraries and schools; and
schedules shows. This Committee, as well as the rest of the Section's NCW activities, was
overseen by the Cleveland Section's NCW co-coordinators for 2011 Bob Fowler and Natalie
Zarlenga. Committee members include Don Boos, Betty Dabrowski, Lois Kuhns, Vince
Opaskar, Margaret Pafford, Marcia Schiele, Shermila Singham and Laura Sterk. Additional
credit and thanks is given to the many GAK Day (Grand Assembly of Kits Day) volunteers
(including local university students) who donated their time beforehand or gave up a Saturday in
September to help count, measure, and assemble all of the necessary materials for our
demonstration kits. A final thank you goes out to the dozens of dedicated chemical professionals
who lead the presentations and activities in schools, libraries, and other public locations.
Without them there would be no Cleveland Section NCW program.
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
2
Information and Checklists
Presenter’s Guide
Story Line
This year our hands-on program explores chemistry as it relates to our bodies and our health.
We‘ll join our make-believe friends, Milli and Avogadro, at a water park for a day of swimming
and fun, and learn about clean water and some of the properties of this amazing chemical. After
a minor accident in which Milli falls, we‘ll learn that chemistry can come to the rescue!
To cool off a bit we‘ll pretend to join them in a visit to the Great Kat Lodge Water Park. We
will learn how water is cleaned for use in pools and for drinking. We‘ll explore some of the
properties that make water such an amazing chemical, and we‘ll see how chemistry can come to
our aid when we‘re injured.
New for 2011
There are several new items for 2011 to which we call the volunteers‘ attentions:
1. This year‘s program features two new videos which were created in conjunction with our
partners at the CCPL. The first video lasts about 5 minutes and is a general introduction to
the Cleveland Section‘s NCW program. It can viewed at:
mms://librarytv.cuyahogalibrary.org/chemistryweek. The second video demonstrates this
year‘s program in its entirety and takes the place of Dress Rehearsal at JCU. It can be
viewed at mms://librarytv.cuyahogalibrary.org/chemistrykits. Please note that neither video
had yet been posted at the time of this writing (September 8, 2011), but they will be shortly.
These videos may require that a video player be downloaded to your computer. There
several free selections available.
2. While not difficult, there is considerable pre-demonstration setup time required at home the
day before the program is conducted. Please see details starting on page 14.
3. For the first time in several years, we were privileged to win a ChemLuminary award from
national ACS last year for ―the most creative use of the yearly theme‖, and in our opinion the
reasons were two-fold: first, a wonderfully imaginative program created by our Planning
Committee and second, the inclusion of actual student feedback we received from a teacher
who utilized our program after receiving a kit at CRCST. We‘ve created new feedback
forms for the students at the program, and we‘d appreciate your assistance in getting the
students to fill them out and then returning them.
How Experiment Write-ups are Organized
The materials and set-up of the demonstrations are located in the introduction section of this
packet. Then, each experiment‘s write-up is presented as follows:

Experiment Purpose & General Methodology

Introduce the Experiment

Performance Details

Conclusions

Additional Information if Needed: Technical Information

Any additional information for the anyone who receive this script/kit
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
3
Information and Checklists
Presenter’s Guide
Each presenter obviously does not need to cover all of this material with the students. Some is
only for the adult/parent audience. Pick out what you are comfortable explaining.
Presentation Overview
This section describes the basic presentation technique used during the demonstrations. This is a
guideline only as the technique may vary for some experiments. Make sure you follow the
instructions given in each experiment. The program this year consists of 7 experiments.

For most experiments your demonstration and the student‘s hands-on work are nearly
simultaneous. You will lead them as they perform the experiment.

Five experiments will be done by all students. For the other two (Exps. 1 & 6), there will be
one experiment that will be shared by all or some of the students at the table; please
encourage multiple students to assist when an experiment is done as a group at a table.
At the end of the day the students will NOT be able to take home the experimental materials or
chemicals that they used, but they will each be given our hand-out with a list of library books,
links to on-line chemistry sites, and info about water. They will also take home their UV
bracelet.
VOLUNTEERS
This year the NCW Committee is replacing the annual ―Dress Rehearsal‖ demonstrations with a
video hosted on the Cuyahoga County Public Library‘s web site as indicated on page 3. This
video demonstrates this year‘s NCW program in detail and may be viewed by anyone interested in
hosting our program. In addition, this script provides enough detail for a competent adult to be
able to perform the presentation. The Cleveland ACS and NCW Committee do not require
background checks on its volunteers nor do we require formal educational/teaching experience
from all of its volunteers.
MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS IN EXPERIMENTS
If experiments have special safety concerns due to the materials being used, they will be listed in
the section for that experiment. For this year‘s program, eye protection should be worn at all
times and students should be specifically told to not touch their eyes; if exposure should occur,
flush with water and report the incident to the librarian and parent. The low concentrations of
our chemical solutions make them irritants. For skin contact, washing with soap and water will
suffice; any coloration of the skin is temporary and will wash/wear off. Websites for where to
obtain a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) are listed in the appendix and are found on our
website. For information about the American Chemical Society‘s NCW safety guidelines, visit
www.acs.org/portal/Chemistry?PID=acsdisplay.html&DOC=ncw%5Csafetyguidelines.html
Cleveland Section ACS ―National Chemistry Week‖ website:
http://www.csuohio.edu/sciences/dept/cleveland_acs/NCW/
National American Chemical Society‘s ―National Chemistry Week‖ website:
www.acs.org/ncw
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
4
Information and Checklists
Presenter’s Guide
Demonstration Check-Off List
Activities To Do Well Before the Day of the Demonstration
Contact your library and
 Verify the date and time of your 1-hour program
 Set up Experiments 1 & 7 (pp. 14 & 15) before leaving for your
demonstration. This setup may require an hour to perform.
 Also schedule AT LEAST an hour and a half before and a half-hour
after your program for set-up and clean-up. Modify the setup time
appropriately depending on how familiar you are with the materials
in your kit and if you will have an assistant.
Completed?

Read through this packet to familiarize yourself with the experiments and verify
that you have all the items as listed in the kit contents.

If you’re using a pre-printed hard copy of the script, obtain the Script
Errata/Addendum Sheet which will posted on our website (ref. page 4).

Please check your kits upon receiving them. Vials and bottles containing
solutions may have shifted during storage and transportation. Check for leakage;
correct situations. Store vials and bottles in as upright a position as possible.

Please do not store kits in an overly warm area (such as in a car on a hot day).
The kit contains many vials and bottles containing solutions that may leak under
pressure created by higher temperatures.

Contact us with any questions: Bob Fowler at fowler@en.com or Natalie
Zarlenga at KARSTNK@kellyservices.com.

Collect the materials you need to bring with you to the demonstration. This
materials list is on page 10. The librarian may be able to provide some of the
items, but you need to call to verify that – do not assume they have anything.

While not necessary, it’s recommended that you to ask a friend and/or
contact the children’s librarian well in advance and request a student
assistant or librarian to be your assistant. Having someone available to help
set-up the room before the program and collect trash as the program progresses
can help keep supplies organized. That person can also assist if multiple students
need assistance or have questions about the experiments.

If you wish to add other experiments or demonstrations into your program, you
must contact the Head Children‘s Librarian through your local librarian ahead of
time to get approval. Be careful and think ―safety first‖. Neither the NCW
Committee nor the Cleveland ACS approves of any experiments added to your
program, and you are responsible for your own actions.


National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
5
Information and Checklists
Presenter’s Guide
Activity To Do about ONE WEEK BEFORE your program
Contact the children‘s librarian who is helping you to coordinate our
program:
 VERIFY that they limited registration to 25 students.
 Ask the room to be arranged with 5 student tables with 5 chairs each, an
additional front table for the presenter and a small side table/area for literature,
photo permission forms, and goggles.
 Ask for all the experiment tables to be covered with newspapers and for extra
paper towels for each table. Otherwise take newspaper and do this during setup.
 Ask about availability of demonstration materials from the list of page 10 (ex.
paper towels, newspaper).
 Ask if the librarian and/or an assistant will be available to assist with the
program or inform them if you will also be bringing an assistant.
 Make sure that the room is available before and after the program for set up
and clean up. Set-up will take approximately 1.5 hours on your own. When
you call the librarian, make sure that the room will be available and that you
can access it 1.5 hours before the start time. If the librarian and/or that
friend/student assistant are available to help with set-up, this will cut down the
time.

Offer that a librarian and/or student assistant are welcome and encouraged to stay
for the entire program. (They might even offer to be an assistant if given the
opportunity.)
Activity To Do AT LEAST ONE DAY BEFORE the Demonstration
Read over the experiments a few times and become familiar with them. Our
program is designed for ~ one hour, but this assumes you are familiar with the
program and are not strictly relying on reading the script step by step on site.
Complete the setups for Experiments 1 and 7 (see pp. 14 & 15).
Gather all the items needed for your presentation as provided in the materials list
starting on page 10. Do NOT assume your librarian will supply any materials
unless agreed upon in advance, and even then, call and verify he/she remembered
your requests. Do NOT assume you can easily obtain water in the library; at
some sites, faucets are close to the sink bottom and allow little room for easily
filling bottles or cups.
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
Completed?



6
Information and Checklists
Presenter’s Guide
Activities To Do When You Get To The Library
Completed?
NOTE: Arrive at least 1-1/2 hours before show time to allow for introductions
and set-up depending on how quickly you think you can perform the steps listed
in the Experimental Setup section. DO NOT assume that a librarian will be
present to help you set up for the experiments.

Introduce yourself to the Children‘s librarian.

Confirm that the tables and chairs are set up properly.

Confirm that all tables are covered in newspaper and have paper towels.

Obtain those supplies from the list on page 10 if provided by library.

Optional: Ask the Children‘s Librarian or an assistant to take pictures during the
demonstration (subject to parents/guardians having given permission).

Complete Demonstration Set-Up. See Experimental Set-Up: ―Activities to Do
On-Site Prior to Demonstration‖ starting on page 15.

Note: This set-up is estimated to take 90 minutes by one person.
Set-up note! If you follow the script as originally written, there are many cups
and other items on the tables. Depending on the size of your tables, and the
activity level of your students, you may choose to distribute fewer items
originally. If so, then perhaps keep the remaining experiments‘ material at your
presenter‘s table—on a tray if you have one— and distribute these items
throughout the program.

Set up an ‗Entrance‘ area table to allow space for goggle distribution and fitting
by the parents, photo permission form signing, and (at the end of the program)
distribution of literature .

You may wish to set up an ‗Exit‘ area table to allow space for end-of-program
activities: goggle return and literature distribution.

Activities To Do At the Start of The Demonstration
Timing
Ask the parent/guardian for permission to photograph the children for possible use
on our website and obtain their signatures to this effect. (If that permission is
not obtained, make sure that that student is positioned in such a way in the room
that they won‘t be included in the photographs, or do not take any photographs.

Hand out goggles and help adjust to the correct fit (if necessary).

Assess number of students per table and adjust to 3-5 per table. Record the number
of students and adults on the provided Demo Feedback form. Do not allow any
student to sit alone at a table as some experiments require two people to perform.

National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Information and Checklists
Presenter’s Guide
Activities To Do During The Demonstration
Timing
Perform demonstrations:
5 min
Welcome
Experiment
Type
Time (mins)
Group
10
Individual
5
Individual
10
4: Water on a Penny: 3 Attraction: The Big Tip*per
Individual
5
th
Individual
5
Group
10
Individual
10
st
1: Deodorizing and Decolorizing Water: 1 Water Park
Attraction: The FUN*nel
2: Sunscreen
3: Water hardness: 2nd Attraction: Fountain of Foam
rd
5: Floating Paper Clip: 4 Attraction: The Aqua Plunge
6: Casting a Broken Finger: First Aid Station
7: Soothing the Pain with Hot and Cold Compresses: First
Aid Station, cont.
Return to Experiment 1
2 min.
Complete the Closing Session information
2 min.
Collect goggles & hand out literature & say ―Thanks for coming‖. Allow
students to take home items as mentioned in the Closing Session on page 40.
Be aware to not show favoritism by giving out items that you cannot give to all
students.
2 min.
Note: Times are approximate. Be familiar with the experiments before
you arrive so you do not waste time ‗reading‘ the script. You may choose
to omit an experiment so that your program does not run over time, or
change an experiment from hands-on to a demonstration. Plan ahead to
determine which experiment you might skip over or abbreviate.
Total Time: ~ 60
min
Activities To Do Immediately After The Demonstration
Completed?
Clean up as indicated in the Clean Up section (p. 41).

Complete your Feedback Form. Put it, the children‘s feedback forms and any
completed Photo Permission forms in the manila envelope provided and return them
to Julia Boxler YTH via the library‘s mail system along with the goggles.

Give the mailing envelope(s) (including the reusable items, the feedback forms and
the photo permission forms) along with the box of student and adult goggles to the
librarian for return to Julia Boxler via interlibrary mail. (Those outside of the CCPL
network can return items to your nearest CCPL branch for return to Julia BoxlerYTH. See www.cuyahogalibrary.org for branch listings.) Please return all materials
within two weeks of NCW.

Give any leftover literature to the librarian (CCPL library kits only).

National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Information and Checklists
Presenter’s Guide
Activities To Do Once You Get Home
If you didn‘t complete a Feedback form and return it via the inter-library mail, we
still need feedback about your program. Please email Bob at jrfowler@cox.net
requesting an electronic form; complete it and return it to him. This information
may be useful to other presenters who have not yet performed their 2011
presentation. It will also be used to justify our expenses for funding of future
programs.
Smile! You have just shared your joy of science and chemistry with children,
possibly inspiring them to become great scientists, chemists, biologists ….
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
Completed?


9
Experiment 1 – Deodorizing and Decolorizing Water
Presenter’s Guide
Supplies Required for Demonstration
Items for Presenter to Provide (or to request in advance from the librarian — do
not assume that the library will have these materials)
1. newspapers for covering 6 long tables with a few layers of paper (if none at site)
2. 1 large garbage bag for solid waste collection
3. 1 bucket for liquid waste collection (optional if sink is within the demo room)
4. A pen (for filling in forms)
5. 1 teaspoon and one tablespoon
6. 1 roll of paper towels.
7. Small plastic tray(s) for arranging plastic cups on, filling same and then distributing.
8. It‘s a good idea to bring an extra gallon of water (Note: It may be difficult to transport
water from library restrooms with shallow sinks or fountains with low spigots, so do
NOT plan to use this method to obtain water unless you have investigated the water
availability at your site.)
9. Three measuring cups:
a. ¼ cup
b. ½ cup
c. 1 cup
10. 1 pair of scissors
11. A long extension cord for use with the UV light.
Optional: IF you care to take pictures, bring a digital camera for taking photos. Make sure
students‘ parents have given their permission for the children to be photographed on the ACS
form and that the students and adults to be photographed are all wearing goggles. You might
want to assign the photography chores to an assistant during the demonstration. It is better to
have close ups of one or a few students to show what they are doing and their excitement.
Note: If you will be performing multiple demonstrations on the same day, you will need to
sanitize the goggles between demonstrations. You will also need:
1. small quantity of household bleach
2. wash bin or bucket
3. old towels or cotton paper towels for drying (soft so as not to scratch the goggles)
…OR…
4. individual sanitizer wipes (soft so as not to scratch the goggles)
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Supplies Included
Presenter’s Guide
Items Provided in Each Demonstration Kit:
General
1. 1 kit box containing materials for 7 Experiments and literature, most for distribution:
a. 1 copy of this year‘s script
b. 25 copies each of the two-sided ―Book & Website List‖/―Experiments to do at
Home‖ handout
c. 1 Program Feedback Form (designed for either teacher programs or library
programs)
d. 25 copies of the Student Feedback Form and 25 small pencils for completion of
these forms.
e. 25 copies of the ACS photo permission form.
f. 26 moist towelettes in a baggie
g. 2 large manila envelopes for returning the Feedback and Photo Permission Forms
and reusable supplies to the NCW via interlibrary mail (addressed to Julia Boxler
- YTH) (library kits only)
NOTE: Initially, one of the return envelopes will contain much of the paperwork
for your program and pencils for the students’ use in completing Feedback forms
at end. This was done to help prevent folding and wrinkling in storage/transport.
2. 1 box of goggles (25-30 student & 2 adult size, addressed for return to Julia Boxler YTH).
Materials by Experiment
Sign-In: None for 2011
Experiment 1: Deodorizing and Decolorizing Water (Group Experiment)
1. 6 20-oz. pop bottles, cut in half and with holes in the lids
2. 12 cotton balls
3. 1 plastic spoon (approximately 1 tsp)
4. 1 large plastic bag filled with 4 cups of sand
5. 1 quart-sized plastic bag containing 1.5 cups of activated charcoal
6. 1 20 oz pop bottle filled with ½ tsp of cocoa powder; capped (no holes in cap)
7. 1 snack-sized plastic bag marked ―G‖ filled with ½ tsp of garlic powder
8. 6 wooden stirrers
9. 1 beral pipette with flavoring (sealed; in zip bag labeled ―F‖)
10. 6 3 oz cups labeled ―DW‖
11. 1 9 oz plastic cup
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Supplies Included
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 2: Sunscreen (Individual Experiment)
1. 156 UV color-change beads (translucent beads that turn various colors when exposed to
UV light)
2. 78 small squares of clear transparency sheet with 3 labeled circles—26 labeled SPF 0; 26
labeled SPF 30, and 26 labeled SPF 70
3. 1 10 ml vial filled with sunscreen lotion of SPF 30 in a plastic bag labeled ―30‖
4. 1 10 ml vial filled with sunscreen lotion of SPF 70 in a plastic bag labeled ―70‖
5. 26 3 oz paper cups labeled ―0‖
6. 32 3 oz paper cups labeled ―30‖
7. 32 3 oz paper cups labeled ―70‖
8. 52 cotton swabs
9. 26 tri-fold paper towels
10. 1 UV light
11. 26 multi-colored pipe cleaners
12. 2 long, thin wooden splints (to remove lotion from vial to cup)
Experiment 3: Water hardness (Individual Experiment)

26 10 ml vials marked ―H‖ in zip bags with 8 ml distilled water in each

26 10 ml vials marked ―S‖ in zip bags with 8 ml distilled water in each

1 snack-size plastic bags marked ―IS‖ containing approx. 6 tsp of Ivory flakes each

1 snack-size plastic bag marked ―ES‖ containing approx. 6 tsp Epsom salt each

6 2 oz portion cups marked ‖ IS‖

6 2oz portion cups marked ―ES‖

26 salt packets

12 plastic spoons
Experiment 4: Water on a Penny (Individual Experiment)
1. 26 pennies
2. 26 4 oz plastic cups labeled ―W‖
3. 26 beral pipettes
4. 26 tri-fold paper towels
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Supplies Included
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 5: Floating Paper Clip (Individual Experiment)
1. 26 large paper clips
2. 26 plastic forks
Experiment 6: Casting a Broken Finger (Group Experiment)
1. 1 9 oz portion cup (to use as a container for water)
2. 1 paper towel cut into 6 1‖ strips (for wrapping finger )
3. 6 intact pairs of plastic gloves
4. 1 plastic bag containing urethane cast material (3M Scotchcast plus®) (DO NOT OPEN
UNTIL READY TO DO DEMO WITH STUDENTS)
5. 1 paper strip cutting guide 11.5‖ in length marked ―3M Scotchcast casting tape cutting
guide‖
Experiment 7: Soothing the Pain with Hot and Cold Compresses (Individual Experiment)
1. 52 plastic sandwich bags, empty, unmarked
2. 26 plastic sandwich bags, empty, marked ―C‖
3. 26 plastic sandwich bags, empty, marked ―H‖
4. 26 teaspoons
5. 26 trifold paper towels
6. 6 4 oz plastic cups marked ―CA‖
7. 6 4 oz plastic cups marked ―BS‖
8. 6 4 oz plastic cups marked ―CC‖
9. 1 plastic quart bag marked ―CA‖, containing 1 ½ cups of citric acid crystals
10. 1 plastic quart bag marked ―BS‖, containing 3 cups baking soda
11. 1 plastic quart bag marked ―CC‖, containing 1 ½ cups calcium chloride
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experimental Setup
Presenter’s Guide
Activities to Do At Least ONE DAY BEFORE the Demonstration:
1. Preparation of Water Filters for Experiment 1
This may take up to 2 hours. These filtration systems can be made days in advance, but
they need to be kept damp before transportation to the demonstration.
1. Prepare each of the six 16-20-ounce bottle filtration systems as follows:
1. Invert the top portion of the bottle so that the cap is downward, and place it into the
bottom portion of the pop bottle. See diagram.
2. Place 2 cotton balls in the neck tightly against the cap.
3. Place about 6 teaspoonfuls of sand on top of the cotton balls.
4. Place about ¼ cup of activated charcoal on top of the sand.
5. Place another ½ cup of sand on top of the charcoal.
6. Smooth out the sand and compress it slightly with your fingers.
7. Trying to minimize disturbing the sand surface, VERY GENTLY pour about ¼ cup
of tap water on the surface and allow it to filter through. SAFETY NOTE¨ the
charcoal may produce some heat and steam upon initial water additions; this is
normal. Continue rinsing with ¼ cup water portions until the filtrate is clear. This
process may take about ½ hour.
8. Cover each with plastic wrap to keep moist until the demonstration.
2. Pack these prepared filters carefully so that the contents will not shift or fall over during
transportation to the site.
3. SUGGESTIONS:
1. For stability during transit, perhaps tape the two halves together in the configuration
shown in the diagram, and then remove the tape during setup at the library.
2. Set the filtration systems directly into a box. The six will fit nicely into a shoe box
surrounded with newspaper, or we have found that typically they can be tucked into a
corner of your kit box and secured there by packing the other experiments‘ bags
around them.
Top half of bottle inverted
Sand
Sand
Carbon
Cotton
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Experimental Setup
Presenter’s Guide
2.Setup for Experiment 7
Fill the 52 unmarked bags with ¼ cup of tap water. Use the measuring cup for this purpose. Seal
the bags. Store these in an upright position until needed.
Activities to Do On-site Prior to Demonstration
General:
1. Verify room setup. (5 student tables with 5 chairs each, one presenter table, all covered
with newspaper, each with paper towels, etc.) One additional table at room entrance.
2. Obtain any supplies requested from librarian (see page 10)
3. On the entry-table place the ACS Photo Permission forms and a pen. IF you plan to take
photos during your presentation for NCW/ACS use (on Cleveland NCW ACS website
and/or for submission to National ACS for awards or annual reports) you MUST obtain a
signed photo permission form for each and every person in the photo. Do NOT take
photos of anyone without written approval. Also, everyone in any photo must be
wearing goggles.
4. Place goggles where they can easily be distributed.
5. Put all copies of the Student Feedback Form and pencils on the demonstrator‘s table.
6. On the entry/exit table place the literature, book/website/take-home handouts and gift bag
to be distributed at the end of the program to each child as you collect the goggles.
Note: In the following the term station refers to each of the 5 places at all 5 student tables plus
the demonstrator‘s table (i.e., 26 places total).
Experiment 1: Deodorizing and Decolorizing Water (Group Experiment)

Carefully wet the surface of the filtration systems if they‘ve dried out.

On the demonstrator‘s table place the following:
1. the 20 oz clear pop bottle with the ½ tsp cocoa powder inside (as supplied with your
demonstration kit) filled with tap water, covered and shaken. This is the ―Dirty Water
(DW).‖
2. the flavoring pipette (removed from the bag marked ―F‖)
3. the bag labeled ―G‖
4. scissors nearby to cut open the pipette later
5. the 20 oz bottle containing the cocoa water
6. all 6 filtration systems. Do not yet place them at the student tables! We do not want
to risk their being knocked over.
7. the 9 oz cup filled about 2/3 full with tap water.
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experimental Setup
Presenter’s Guide

On each students‘ table place
1. one wooden stirrer
2. one empty 3 oz cup labeled ―DW‖
Experiment 2: Sunscreen (Individual Experiment)

At each station place the following:
1. 3 3 oz paper cups: 1 marked ―0‖, 1 marked ―30‖ and another marked ―70‖.
2. 3 small squares of clear transparency sheet, each with a circle—1 labeled ―SPF
0‖; 1 labeled ―SPF 30‖, and 1 labeled ―SPF 70‖
3. 6 UV beads. Cover the beads with the tri-fold paper towel provided.
4. 2 cotton swabs
5. 1 pipe cleaner

Using one the two wooden splints provided, divvy the sunscreen lotion in the 10 ml vial
in the baggie marked ―30‖ between the 6 cups marked ―30‖. Do the same with the SPF
70 lotion. Place one of these cups on each table.

Place the UV lamp on the demonstrator‘s table. Connect with your long extension cord
so you can reach all the tables.

Note: when it comes time to perform this experiment, you may need to close the curtains
and/or dim the lights somewhat for this experiment—observe how the beads are reacting
to the light in the room as you‘re setting up, and proceed accordingly.
Experiment 3: Water hardness (Individual Experiment)

Divvy the Epsom salt in the baggie marked ―ES‖ among the 6 2 oz. cups marked ―ES‖.

Do the same with the Ivory soap pieces in the baggie marked ―IS‖.

On each table place:
1. one 2 oz. cup with Epsom salt marked ―ES‖
2. one 2 oz. cup with Ivory soap pieces marked ―IS‖
3. two plastic spoons

At each station place:
1. one 10 ml vial of distilled water marked ―H‖
2. one 10 ml vial of distilled water marked ―S‖
3. one packet of table salt.
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experimental Setup
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 4: Water on a Penny (Individual Experiment)

At each station place the following:
1. 1 penny
2. 1 beral pipette
3. 1 4 oz plastic cup labeled ―W‖. Fill each 4 oz cup about ¾ full with tap water.
4. 1 paper towel
Experiment 5: Floating Paper Clip (Individual Experiment)

At each station place the following:
o 1 large paper clip
o 1 plastic fork
Experiment 6: Casting a Broken Finger (Group Experiment)

At the demonstrator‘s table place the following:
a. The plastic bag containing the 3M urethane cast material. NOTE: Do not
prematurely open the bag of 3M Scotchcast material! It will start to harden upon
exposure to the moisture in the air.
b. 1 pair of plastic gloves and the scissors you brought from home.
c. The 11.5‖ paper strip guide marked for cutting the cast material.
d. The 6 1‖ strips of paper towel for wrapping the finger
Experiment 7: Soothing the Pain with Hot and Cold Compresses (Individual Experiment)

Distribute the citric acid from the bag marked ―CA‖ evenly into each of the 6 cups
marked ―CA‖.

Distribute the baking soda from the bag marked ―BS‖ evenly into each of the 6 cups
marked ―BS‖.

Distribute the CaCl2 from the bag marked ―CC‖ evenly into each of the 6 cups marked
―CC‖.

Fill 52 unmarked plastic sandwich bags with ¼ cup of room-temperature water in each
and seal. THIS MAY BE DONE THE DAY BEFORE TO SAVE SETUP TIME.

Place the following at each station:
1. 2 plastic sandwich bags, unmarked filled with ¼ cup of tap water
2. 1 plastic sandwich bag, empty, marked ―C‖
3. 1 plastic sandwich bag, empty, marked ―H‖
4. 1 teaspoon
5. 1 trifold towel
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experimental Setup
Presenter’s Guide

Place the following on each table:
1. 1 4 oz plastic cup marked ―CA‖ containing citric acid
2. 1 4 oz plastic cup marked ―BS‖ containing baking soda
3. 1 4 oz plastic cup marked ―CC‖ containing calcium chloride
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Opening Session
Presenter’s Guide
Greet the Students (and Parents) Upon Their Arrival, Distribute
Goggles, and Organize the Seating
 If you plan to take pictures, ask the parents/guardian to give or withhold their permission for
the student to be photographed via the ACS consent form. Don‘t forget to obtain their
signatures on the forms provided.
 Help or have the students‘ parents put on their goggles. Adjust the straps as necessary.
(Note: These goggles are sanitized each year and prior to each demonstration.)
 Ask each student to PLEASE not touch any of the materials before the program begins.
Some experiments may be ruined if they do.
 Distribute the students 3-5 per table. (Note: You might want some librarian assistance with
this: IF you plan to take photos and some of the parents have denied permission, you‘ll want
to put all of the children who aren‘t going to be photographed at a separate table.)
Opening Discussion
Introduce the Items on the Tables:
 Tell the students that various items have been gathered for them on their table.
 Some of the items can be found around the house, but others are laboratory chemicals.
Emphasize that students should NOT touch anything until instructed to do so. Never taste or
smell anything, as if they were in a laboratory!
 Tell the students that some of our items today can stain clothes or hands if we‘re not careful.
Mention to mom and dad that the chemicals can be washed off with soap and water if any
hands get stained. We will also be good chemists and take the safety precaution of protecting
our eyes with our goggles.

Put on a pair of the adult-sized goggles. If you have an assistant, ask them to do the same.
Verify that all students have goggles on.
Introduce Yourself and the Program
 Introduce yourself as a chemist or chemist/science teacher/engineer (or state your interests in
chemistry), and introduce the American Chemical Society as the largest organization in the
world devoted to a single profession.
 Introduce National Chemistry Week—what it is and why we do it. (Hint: it is a nationwide
event put on by volunteers like you to let non-scientists know about chemistry and how it has
improved our everyday life.)
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Opening Session
Presenter’s Guide
Introduce Today’s Presentation:
 The theme of NCW this year is ―Chemistry—Our Health, Our Future!‖. Ask the students:
―Have you ever gone to a water park….or did you cool off in your yard this summer by
running through a sprinkler, have a squirt gun fight, or go swimming? You know that the
water in a pool must be clean so that no one gets sick. We‘ll do some experiments to clean
up dirty water and to find out more about this amazing chemical. Water has some very
interesting properties that are important to our health and the health of our planet, and that
allow you to have fun, like in a water park.‖
 Then ask some or all of the following:
1. How much of our body is water? Ans: about 80% of a baby's body is water. Adult: 6070%--which is more than half.
2. How much of the earth is water? Ans: about 75%, i.e., 3/4, of the earth is covered with
water.
3. What do we have in common with dinosaurs? Ans: we may be drinking the same water
they did. The earth is a closed system...the same water that was used by the dinosaurs is
still being used by us today.
4. How much water do we use a day in the US? Ans: how many gallons....think how much
a gallon of milk is.......we use up to 100 gallons a day....mostly from flushing.
5. Which liquid can dissolve the most stuff? Ans: water - the universal solvent.
6. What dissolves in water that you drink everyday? Ans: salt, sugar, coloring
(dyes).......milk, juice, etc. is mostly water.
7. Water is so awesome—it floats when it freezes. Why is this important? Ans: think of
the fish and frogs that can still live in ponds in winter. If water didn‘t float, it would sink
and slowly fill the pond completely with ice killing all this wildlife. Floating ice is also a
great insulation against cold: it protects the fish from freezing. That‘s why water
temperature in ponds and lakes never gets lower than 33°F even in the coldest winters.
Now that we‘ve thought a little about water, let‘s pretend to visit a water park with some makebelieve friends called Milli and Avogadro.
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experiment 1 – Deodorizing and Decolorizing Water
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 1: Deodorizing and Decolorizing Water
1st Water Park Attraction: The FUN*nel (Group Experiment)
Experiment Purpose & General Methodology
 The students will use a water filtration system to clean ‗dirty‘ water.
 This experiment will be done per table as a group. The introduction and experiment will take
about 10 minutes to complete. Towards the end of the program, you will return to the water
filter and discuss the results and conclusions.
Introduce the Experiment
Tell the students the following:

When we go to a water park we need clean, safe water to swim in. Where does all this clean
water come from?

The total amount of water on Earth is fixed. The water available today is the same amount
that was available five million years ago. Every drop of water we use for washing, cooking or
drinking has been used countless times before. There are efficient, modern methods for
purifying ―wastewater.‖

Ask students how they would define ―raw‖ water (i.e., water for drinking drawn from lakes
and streams) and what might be in it, without getting too gross. Ans: it might have bits of
trees and leaves and probably some dirt (suspended solids).

When raw water arrives at the treatment plant it first flows through a screen to catch large
objects like leaves and twigs and maybe even a long-lost sock. From there it goes through
several more chambers to settle out the solids, remove any odors and then be sterilized.

We are going to do a clean-up of ―dirty‖ water (we‘re making our own ―dirty‖ water with
some food items, so it‘s safe). We will do this by filtering. (Point out the filtration systems
on each table.)

There are a number of layers of different materials in the top of the funnel. The top layer is
sand, which will filter out large particles like leaves, but not bad odors or dissolved materials.
(Some very small particles dissolve in water; can you give an example? sugar, salt, food
coloring; think of Kool-Aid®).

The next layer is activated charcoal which removes the odors and other dissolved materials.

There is another layer of sand to trap any particles that have gotten through this far.

At the very bottom of the opening are cotton balls to stop any of the very fine particles from
coming through, and only pure water should filter out.

We are now going to distribute our ―dirty water.‖
Performance Details

Fill each of the cups labeled ―DW‖ at each station (including yours) about 2/3 full with the
―Dirty H2O‖ (water plus cocoa powder). Have the students examine and smell their sample.
The cocoa simulates what scientists call ―suspended solids‖.
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Experiment 1 – Deodorizing and Decolorizing Water
Presenter’s Guide

Invert the flavoring pipette and cut off its end. Carefully add 3-5 drops of the flavoring to
each cup and let the children smell the solution after one of them stirs it with the wooden
stick. Remind the students that although we added flavoring, we should never taste our
experiments.

Now use the spoon to add a ―small pinch‖ of the garlic powder to each dirty water cup. Have
the students stir with the wooden stick and again allow each student to smell and examine the
liquid. Be sure to close the bag of the leftover garlic to decrease the odor in the room.

At the demonstration table, show how to carefully add the dirty water to the top of the
filtration unit. Show the students how you pour the water slowly so as not to move the top
sand layer much or create a pit in the center of the sand.

The students should be given the filtration systems now (do not do this earlier –students may
knock it over and disturb the layers.). Have one student pour the contents into the system and
let it begin to filter through while another student holds the bottom so it doesn‘t tip over.

The demonstrator should walk around the room and add a small amount of fresh water from
the 9 oz cup to each of the dirty water cups. Have another student swirl the water around in
the cup gently and then add this water to the filter as well. This will prevent our dirty water
cups from adding unpleasant odors to our library room. (Although probably unnecessary, you
may choose to collect the dirty water cups and dispose of them in your garbage bag at this
time.)

Tell them you will all set these filters aside and come back to them later. The demonstrator
should be sure that they are off to the side so as not to be knocked over. Go on to the next
experiment.

Note our clever funnel set-up using recycled bottles! We‘ll call this first ―attraction‖ in our
water park the FUN*nel.
Conclusions
Drinking water treatment plants first allow any suspended solids to settle out from the raw water
and then they filter it several times through filters made of sand and gravel. Activated charcoal
absorbs organic compounds which give water color and odor. This is a physical process, not a
chemical change. Note that few bacteria are removed by filtration of the kind that we performed.
In fact drinking water is chlorinated to kill harmful bacteria before it‘s pumped to your home.
It‘s also fluorinated to help prevent cavities.
Interestingly, filtration is an important step in nature‘s way of purifying water in the water cycle.
Water in nature seeps into the ground, passing through gravel, sand and even rock. This removes
nearly all suspended matter. As water flows down rivers and streams, oxygen dissolves in it, and
bacteria clean the water. This is the water cycle in nature.
By contrast in a municipal wastewater treatment plant, filtration is not the main method of
purification. Rather, suspended solids are first settled out from the wastewater and then air is
bubbled through it so that bacteria have sufficient oxygen to digest the ―dissolved solids‖ (i.e.,
waste materials) aerobically. Since bacteria are not removed by the filtration process, you might
want to point out that wastewater treatment plants typically chlorinate it before releasing it to
rivers and streams.
22
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
Experiment 2 – Sunscreen
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 2: Sunscreen (Individual Experiment)
Experiment Purpose & General Methodology
 The students will learn about sunscreens and SPF ratings.
 This experiment will be done by each student and will take approximately 5 minutes to
complete.
Introduce the Experiment
Tell the students the following:
 When we go to a water park, we will be in a lot of sun. Before Milli and Avogadro dive in,
they realize that they need to protect themselves from the elements.
 Ask the students what they do to protect themselves from the sun when they go swimming.
Students will probably respond with SUNSCREEN.
 Why do we need sunscreen?: for protection from ultraviolet…..burns, wrinkles, and cancer.
As summer approaches, our hemisphere tilts toward the sun, days become longer, and the sun‘s
rays become more intense.
 This experiment will show you that sunscreen really works!
Perform Experiment with the Students and Discuss How Sunscreens Work
Tell the students to do the following:
 Find the six UV (ultraviolet)-sensitive beads on the table before them (covered with the paper
towel). Explain that these beads absorb UV light and change color. Have them place two UV
beads in each of the 3 oz cups labeled ―0‖, ―30‖ and ―70‖. Tell the students to line the cups in a
row so that cups are almost touching and cover them with the trifold paper towel.
 Tell the students to pass the cup labeled ―30‖ down the table. When it‘s their turn, dip one of
their cotton swabs into the material (don‘t drip it and make a mess!) and carefully ―paint‖ the
transparency circle labeled ―SPF 30‖ with this material. Repeat this process using the cup
labeled ―70‖ and the second cotton swab. The entire area of the circles labeled SPF 30 and SPF
70 is to be covered—neatly—using these two materials. Tell the students to remove the paper
towel from the cups and quickly cover the cup labeled ―0‖ with the square piece marked ―0‖. Do
the same with the cups marked ―30‖ and ―70‖. The circles on the square should be placed so that
they cover the openings in the cups.
 While they are covering the circles inform the students…
 To be sure you are protecting yourself from damaging rays, sunscreen should be one part
of an overall strategy to keep your skin healthy. In Australia, the country that has the highest
rates of skin cancer in the world, people are urged to "slip, slop, slap". That is, slip on a shirt,
slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat when you need to spend time in the sun. Staying out of
the sun during peak hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) is also recommended.
 Sunscreen lotions absorb certain wavelengths of light before they reach the body. UV light
with a wavelength range of 400–320 nm and 320–290 nm are referred to as UVA light and
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experiment 2 – Sunscreen
Presenter’s Guide
UVB light, respectively. Different wavelengths have different energy. Depending on the type
and amount of sunscreen present, only a percentage of UV light will actually reach your skin.
 Ask the students if they know what SPF on the sunscreen labels means? (Sun protection
factor). You will discuss this more in a moment.
 Now ask the students 2-5 to carefully pick up their 3 cups (don‘t tilt the cups and drop the
plastic covers off!) and place them, one by one, next to student No. 1‘s cups. When completed,
there should be a 3X5 matrix (if you would) of cups near the end of the table so that you can
easily expose all the cups to the UV light. Point out that this UV light is similar to those used in
tanning salons.
 Now go the each table and hold the UV lamp over the beads long enough for their colors to
change (typically <10 sec).
 Tell the students to retrieve their 3 cups and examine the beads in them. What differences do
they notice between the beads in the 3 cups? Ans: the beads in the cup marked ―0‖ should
display the brightest colors, those in ―30‖ an intermediate brightness and those in ―70‖ should be
the least bright.
 Ask them what happened and why. Ans: increasing SPF values should decrease the
exposure to the UV light, although the increased effect is marginal about an SPF value of about
50. (In fact in 2012 the FDA is adopting a new standard making SPF 50 the highest value
offered.) Ask the students if they can see how using a lotion with an SPF factor of at least 30 can
help minimize the effect of harmful UV rays from sunlight.
 When the students have completed examining the UV beads, tell them to remove the beads
from the cups and string them on their pipe cleaners to make a bracelet or armband. (Even the
boys can wear the bracelets—tell them it‘s really a scientific device.) Once more pass the UV
light over each student‘s bracelet to excite the colors in the beads. Make sure to tell the students
that they can achieve the same effect using bright sunlight—maybe they can even string the
beads on their shoelaces for some more fun.
Conclusions
 Sunscreen lotions absorb certain wavelengths of light before they reach the body. Depending
on the type and amount of sunscreen present, only a percentage of UV light will actually reach
your skin. The sun protection factor (SPF) on sunscreen bottles is related to this percentage. Very
simply, if you can prevent half as much light from hitting your body, you can stay in the sun
twice as long (SPF 2). If only 3% of the light gets through, then you can stay out 33 times longer
(SPF 33). The actual SPF for a particular lotion is more complicated and is determined
experimentally by measuring actual burn rates.
 Ask them again what to do to protect themselves: Slip, Slop and Slap. Do not become
deluded! The best course of action is still to avoid sun exposure during peak hours (10 a.m.–4
p.m.). If you must be out, wear a hat. Remember, a backward baseball cap might look really
cool, but it does not protect your face, forehead, and ears. Your best bet is a hat with a large
brim. My unofficial observation is that the goofiness and the sun protection of a hat are directly
proportional, so lather up with sunscreen, wear your silliest hat, and get out there!
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experiment 2 – Sunscreen
Presenter’s Guide
Technical Information
 Without the sun, there would be no life on Earth. It keeps our planet warm. Plants need the
sun's radiant energy for photosynthesis. People need small amounts of exposure to activate
vitamin D in their bodies, a substance important to bone-building and other biological processes.
 You can have too much of a good thing though. Too much sun can cause sunburn. Over time,
too much sun can age the skin, making it leathery and inelastic. Researchers have also noticed a
strong correlation between too much sun when you are young and skin cancer when you are
older.
 Sunlight is made of many different kinds of light. These kinds of light have different energies
and their properties are a result of these energies. Not all kinds of light cause sunburn. Only
ultraviolet (UV) light damages skin.
 Light energy is measured in wavelengths (γ); the smaller the wavelength, the greater the
energy. UV light is usually broken down into three subtypes:
UVA, 320-400 nm wavelength
UVB, 290-320 nm wavelength
UVC, 200-290 nm wavelength
 UVC light will do the most damage to your skin. Fortunately, this kind of light is completely
absorbed by the atmosphere. Too much UVB light is responsible for sunburns. UVA light can
damage your eyes over time. UVB and UVA go right through the air and clouds, which is why
you can still get sunburned on an overcast day. Scientists aren't sure which type of UV light
(UVA or UVB) causes the increased likelihood of skin cancer.
 ―Broad Spectrum‖ sunblock lotions are popular these days because—although UVB light
causes sunburns—scientists aren‘t sure whether UVA, UVB, or some combination of the two is
responsible for causing skin cancer. Broad spectrum lotions typically absorb a wide range of
wavelengths, including UVA and UVB. To achieve broad coverage, the lotions use multiple
sunscreens that are selected on the basis of either a favorable property (waterproof,
hypoallergenic) or a wavelength range they absorb. Most dermatologists recommend that
consumers apply a broad spectrum SPF 30 or higher every two hours.
 Sunscreens work by absorbing some of the UV light before it reaches your skin. Compounds
such as cinnimate, oxybenzone, salicylates, and dibenzoylmethanes absorb UV light at different
wavelengths, so many manufacturers put more than one UV-absorbing compound in their spray
or lotion to give better protection from the sun. Most sunscreens block UVB rays.

These five active ingredients are good examples of typical sunscreen compounds.
Octyl salicylate is one of a class of sunscreen compounds called salicylates. They absorb UVB
light over the full range but are not particularly effective sunscreens because they have low
absorptivity. Their saving grace is that they are stable, hypoallergenic, and waterproof.
Oxybenzone absorbs both UVA and UVB light but is generally considered a UVA blocker.
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experiment 2 – Sunscreen
Presenter’s Guide
Octyl methoxycinnamate is part of a class of sunscreen compounds called cinnamates that
absorb strongly in the UVB range but are not waterproof. In this formulation, and in many
others, it is used in combination with waterproof ingredients such as octyl salicylate (above).
Octylcrylene is a relatively new sunscreen that provides superior coverage in the UVB range.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) does not absorb UV light at all, but rather blocks light from reaching
your skin by reflecting or scattering it. It is sometimes referred to as a ―nonchemical‖ sunblock
(as a chemical enthusiast, you should find this silly because, of course, it‘s a chemical). TiO2 is
different from the compounds above because the skin does not absorb it; it works by physically
blocking the light. TiO2 sunscreens are extremely effective and hypoallergenic. It might surprise
you that another consumer product also uses TiO2—white paint! TiO2 sunblocks were not widely
used in the past because they stayed white when applied (remember the white noses?). The
particle size of new ―micronized‖ TiO2 formulations is so small that TiO2 sunblock is invisible
on skin.
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experiment 3 – Water Hardness
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 3: Water Hardness: 2nd Attraction: Fountain of Foam
(Individual Experiment)
Experiment Purpose & General Methodology
 The students will learn the difference between ―soft‖ and ―hard‖ water.
 The students will learn why it takes so much soap to wash up using hard water.
 This experiment will be done per student, and will take about 10 minutes.
Introduce the Experiment
Tell the students the following:

At the water park, we want to visit the attraction called the ―Fountain of Foam‖. Who
doesn‘t love fountains and waterfalls….and bubbles! How can we get soap bubbles to stick
around a long time? It depends on what kind of water we use. And the kind of water
depends on the salts that are dissolved in it.

Before Milli and Avogadro begin their day of swimming, they‘re going to have lunch. Just as
it‘s important to have clean water for swimming, it‘s important to have clean hands before
eating lunch. This experiment will show them how hardness in water sometimes makes it
difficult to wash your hands thoroughly. When we stop for lunch at the water park, we will
wash our hands first. Depending on the kind of water we use, we‘ll have lots of suds or
hardly any.

Ask students if they have ever heard of hard or soft water.

Does hard water really feel hard and soft water feel soft? (Answer: No. They don‘t look or
feel different from one another, but they have different chemicals dissolved in them.)

Depending on the hardness of the water, washing up can be easy or more difficult. Ask the
students if they know which (hard water or soft water) is easier to use for washing up.

Our experiment will help us understand the meaning of ―hard‖ and ―soft‖ water and will help
us determine which is better to use when washing.

This experiment will show you that sunscreen really works!
Perform the Experiment along with the students.
Do the following:

Ask the students to find the portion cup marked ―IS‖ with the soap particles. Using the
teaspoon take out one piece of soap (or enough flakes to be the size of a watermelon seed)
and carefully transfer into the vial marked ―S‖. Add the same amount of soap to the vial
marked ―H‖ and pass the portion cup down to the next student.

The ―H‖ water will become our example for hard water, while the ―S‖ water will become our
example of soft water as we continue the experiment.

Make sure that the students carefully and fully close the cap on each vial; then shake both
vials to dissolve the soap and make a head of bubbles in each container.
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experiment 3 – Water Hardness
Presenter’s Guide

Have each student find their table-salt packet, open it, and add a ―pinch‖ (a few crystals of
table salt) to the vial marked ―S‖. Shake the vial. What happens? [Answer: The soap head
should be unaffected.]

Ask the students to find the portion cup marked ―ES‖. Using the teaspoon, add a small
amount—one crystal is best but use the smallest amount possible—of the Epsom salt to the
vial marked ―H‖. Shake the vial. What happens? [Answer: The soap head formed should
collapse immediately and the liquid becomes very cloudy with small particles.]

Pass the portion cup marked ―ES‖ around the table again and add a few more crystals. A
precipitate, equivalent to the ring around a bath tub, will be formed. Ask the students if
they‘ve ever seen a ring around the bathtub. If so, it‘s caused by the hardness (minerals) in
the water reacting with the soap.

Set the ―S‖ water vial aside for use in the next 2 experiments.
Conclusions
Tell the students the following:

The table salt added to the ―soft‖ test tube represents the salt on your body, such as when you
sweat. Salt is composed of the elements sodium and chlorine and does not interfere with the
foaming action of the soap. Soap is easily washed away with ―soft‖ water.

The Epsom salt that was added to the vial marked ―H‖ represents hard water. Hard water
contains chemicals similar to those in Epsom salt which make foaming difficult and create a
sticky soap scum film inside the vial. Perhaps you have head about the ―ring around the tub.‖
Remember, hard water = hard to make a lather.

Water softeners are popular in areas with hard water because they make washing clothes and
bodies easier.

Getting clothes and ourselves clean takes less soap in soft water because the ―hardness‖ in
hard water combines with soap, forms unsightly rings and requires that more soap be used
than with soft water.
Additional Information If Needed: Technical Background
 The soap used must be Ivory; other brands tested did not work as well.
 Water hardness results from calcium, magnesium and iron in water. In nature, water becomes
hard by picking up calcium or magnesium when it flows over or through rocks that contain
limestone and other minerals.
 Calcium, magnesium, and iron form stearate salts when mixed with soap (which is mainly
sodium stearate and other sodium salts of fatty acids). These calcium, magnesium, and iron
stearates are much less soluble in water than the sodium salt and precipitate upon mixing.
The solid precipitate correspond to ―soap scum‖ or bathtub ring.
 Most detergents and shampoos have been formulated so as not to lose their effectiveness
when used with hard water. Detergents often contain sodium lauryl sulfate which does not
form precipitates in the presence of calcium or magnesium ions.
National Chemistry Week 2011 - Cleveland Section
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Experiment 3 – Water Hardness
Presenter’s Guide
 Many homes have water-softening devices that remove the dissolved metal ions. The most
common type of water softener utilizes an ion-exchange resin that replaces any Mg+2, Ca+2,
and Fe+2 ions in the water with Na+ ions which form soluble stearate salts. Laundry aid
agents, such as Calgon, borax, and washing soda, are marketed to remove hard water cations
by causing them to become part of larger soluble anions, or by precipitating them as
carbonates, which can be washed away with rinse water.
 The chemical formula for Epsom salt is MgSO4 . 7H2O.
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Experiment 4 – Water on a Penny
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 4: Water on a Penny: 3rd Attraction: The Big Tip*per
(Individual Experiment)
Experiment Purpose & General Methodology
 At a water park, there can be a big bucket handing above your head which fills with water.
When the bucket is full, it suddenly tips over and spills out, drenching you and your friends.
We‘re going to do a similar thing on a mini scale, by putting water on a penny, drop by drop,
until the water suddenly spills over, and soaks your paper towel. We‘ll call this attraction the
Big Tip*per.
 After making sure that they covered their skin with sunscreen, Milli and Avogadro enjoyed
several hours of swimming. When they took a break from swimming, they decided to play
this game with water in which they will see how much water can be placed on a penny.
 This experiment will be done by each student and will take approximately 5 minutes to
complete.
Introduce the Experiment
Tell the students the following:

We‘re all going to get a penny and count how many drops of water we can put on it. Make
a guess as to how many. We‘ll see who‘s right!
Performance Details:
Do the following, leading the students:

Ask the students to place their penny in front of them.

Ask each student to fill their pipette with tap water. Explain that they need to pinch the bulb
of the pipette to expel the air and then put the tip under the water before they let go of their
pinch. The water will rise into the pipet.

Carefully count the number of drops of water you can drip onto a penny before it spills off [it
should take about 25-50 drops].

Dry the penny thoroughly with the paper towel and squirt any remaining water out of the
pipette back into the cup marked ―W‖. Repeat the experiment using the soap and table salt
solution used in the last experiment (from the vial marked ―S‖). It should take less than 5
drops. Note: tell the students not to use all of the solution from the vial marked ―S‖ since
we‘ll need a few drops for Experiment 5.

Tell them to sit the pipette and the cup marked ―W‖ aside for use with the next experiment.
Conclusions
Tell the students the following:

Ask if the hard water had any effect on the number of drops they could get on a penny.

The surface of water is held together by a strong force called ―surface tension.‖ You can
imagine this force making water look like it has an elastic ―skin‖ all over it. With pure water,
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Experiment 4 – Water on a Penny
Presenter’s Guide
the ―skin‖ is strong, so you can pile up many drops of water on the penny without the water
falling off.

Soap is a class of chemicals known as surfactants or surface active agents.

When a surfactant is added to the water, it weakens the ―skin‖ or the surface tension, so less
drops of water can be piled on the penny.
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Experiment 5 – Floating Paper Clip
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 5: Floating Paper Clip: 4th Attraction: The Aqua
Plunge (Individual Experiment)
Experiment Purpose & General Methodology
 The students will further investigate the properties of surface tension.
 This experiment will be done by each student, and will take 5 minutes to complete.
Introduce the Experiment
Ask/tell the students the following

At the water park we want to grab an inner tube and float down the Lazy River. You float
mainly because you‘re lighter than the water you displace (or push aside). However, a water
strider (a spider-like insect that walks on water) stays completely on the surface of the water.
This is due to something called surface tension, which we will explore in this next
experiment.

If we‘re floating in an inner tube, we won‘t be falling into the water, but we‘ll send
something on a dive here! So we‘ll call our next attraction ―The Aqua Plunge.
Do the following:

Tell the students to place the paper clip on the fork and hold it about ½ inch over the surface
of the water in the portion cup marked ―W‖, parallel to the surface of the water. Now gently
lower the fork into the water leaving the paper clip floating on the surface. Tell them to do
this carefully since it‘s often very difficult to get the paper clip dry enough for a second
attempt.

Ask the students what happened. [The paper clip should remain on the surface.]

Have the students pick up their pipette (same one as they just used with Exp. 4) containing
surfactant solution from the cup marked ―S‖ from Experiment 3. Have the students add a
few drops of the surfactant solution, one drop at a time, to the surface of the water in the
portion cup away from the paper clip. Do not allow the drops to fall directly on the paper
clip. Ask the students what they observe. [The paper clip moves away from the side the
surfactant was dropped on.]

Continue adding the surfactant, dropwise until the paper clip sinks.

Have the students empty the surfactant pipette back into the container marked ―S‖.
Conclusions
Tell the students the following:

Explain to the students: the metal paper clip is originally held up due to the surface tension
of the water. (The paper clip isn‘t floating because of its density or weight.)

The paper clip initially sits on top of the water. Molecules in water attract each other. In the
middle of a drop or in the bulk of the water, molecules pull toward each other equally in all
directions. But at the surface, molecules of water are only pulled into the water, for there are
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Experiment 5 – Floating Paper Clip
Presenter’s Guide
no molecules to pull in the opposite direction, so the water pulls its surface tight around it
like a stretchy skin. This is why the clean water beads up on the penny. It is also this surface
tension, the surface ‗skin‘ that also holds up the paper clip.

For water to clean, it must ‗wet‘ or be absorbed into the surface of the item to be cleaned. To
wet the surface, the surface tension must be reduced. This is one of the things that
surfactants/soaps/detergents do.

As the surfactant is added, the paper clip moves away from the surfactant droplets because
the surfactant weakens the surface tension of the water. The water on the other side of the
paper clip still has a very high surface tension (where the water molecules are pulling each
other strongly) and it pulls the paper clip towards it. The addition of more surfactant
continues to lower the surface tension of the water. The paper clip finally sinks when enough
surfactant has been added to completely lower the surface tension to the point where it is no
longer strong enough to hold the paper clip up. The surface tension is ―broken‖ by the
surfactant. The lower surface tension of the surfactant-containing water also prevents the
water from beading up on the paper. The surfactant has caused the water to lose its strong
skin; it no longer beads up.

All surfaces to be cleaned need to be ‗wet‘ to help cleaning detergent interact with the ‗dirt‘
to be removed. To be ‗wet‘ means more than to have water ‗on‘ it. It means that water needs
to flow, coat the surface, and maybe actually penetrate into the surface.

Surface tension is a property that may prevent the wetting of our material to be cleaned, so
we need to know what surface tension is and how to adjust it.

The water‘s surface tension actually makes it easier for Milli and Avogadro to float in the
pool, so they can now go and enjoy their swim knowing that they and the water they‘re
swimming are both clean and the water‘s properties actually help them have fun.
(Archimedes‘ Principle is, of course, the governing factor in floating or sinking, but no sense
going into that unless the students ask.)
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Experiment 6 – Casting a Broken Finger
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 6: Casting a Broken Finger: A Visit to the First Aid
Station (Group Experiment)
Experiment Purpose & General Methodology

One student at each table will have a cast made of one of their fingers based on modern,
quick-setting casting material. This group experiment will take approximately 10 minutes to
complete.
Introduce the Experiment

The demonstrator should prepare the urethane Scotchcast plus® strips for the modern casts
while telling them the information below. If you have an assistant they can be doing this
while you introduce this experiment. Wearing polyethylene ―rubber‖ gloves, cut the
Scotchcast material into 12 inch strips using the paper guide as a template. Lay the strips on
the empty zipper-bag work surface so they can be easily transported to the student tables.
When you are done cutting six strips, wipe off the shears with a dry paper towel or newsprint
to remove most of the urethane. Leave the scissors open on the demonstrators table (to
prevent the scissors from sticking shut as any residual urethane cures). Note: Any residual
urethane that has fully-cured on the scissor blades can be removed later with a sharp blade
(like a razor blade) or scraper.
Tell the students the following:

Uh-oh. Milli fell on the slippery concrete around the pool! She hurt her finger and bruised
her arm. We need to take her to the First Aid Station at the water park.

At the First Aid Station, a doctor looks at Milli‘s finger and takes some X-rays. It‘s
determined that she broke her finger. The doctor has several materials to choose from to
make the cast. Some are more old-fashioned and some are made of modern high-tech
material.
 We‘ll investigate one of the new technologies for putting a cast on Milli‘s finger. You may
try the older method using the information we have supplied on your take home sheet. This
takes several hours to harden but our new technology takes just minutes!
Perform Experiment Simultaneously with the Students
Do the following, leading the students:

Have one student at each table wrap his finger with a strip of paper towel and cover it with a
glove.

The demonstrator should carry the Scotchcast strips and water container to each table and…

Wearing the polyethylene ―rubber‖ gloves, dip the Scotchcast into the water container and
GENTLY (not tightly) wrap it around the student‘s finger – have them hold their finger
straight! We want their finger to heal properly! (NOTES: The urethane Scotchcast material
has a strong attachment to skin. Wrap the tip of the finger that is completely covered with
the paper towel and glove. Also: The material hardens rather quickly. Do not allow the
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Experiment 6 – Casting a Broken Finger
Presenter’s Guide
student to bend their finger; this helps ensure that the student can easily remove the cast if it
sets up too quickly – although this is not expected under proper supervision.)

Tell the student to remove/slip off the cast from their finger after about a half a minute or
when the material starts to harden and is still slightly flexible (yes they can touch it safely at
this point). (Demonstrators should make sure that each child removes their cast in a timely
manner, so that the cast does not over-harden on their finger. While the cast is expected to be
easily removed if loosely wrapped on a straight finger, it is better to remove the cast while it
is still slightly flexible. Use good judgment!) Repeat for rest of tables.

Ask the students to examine the cast. The new material gets hard very quickly, and stays
only slightly flexible. The old material that used to be used was Plaster of Paris and would
still be ‗wet‘ and very flexible at this time. Tell the students they can check on their cast
material later in the program to determine how long it took to finally become hard.
Conclusions
Tell the students the following:

The high tech casting material is made of a piece of mesh material that has been saturated
with chemicals containing short polymer chains and cross-linking agents. You can picture
these as short pieces of a chain (make two interlocked loops with your fingers to demonstrate
this idea). When the material is exposed to water, even water moisture in the air, a reaction
starts that causes the short polymer chains to link together into longer chains. Also, the
cross-linking agents connect them together all along the length of the chains – forming a web
or mesh that is very strong and hard. This reaction happens very fast and allows the doctor to
quickly cast a broken bone such as Milli‘s finger.

The old Plaster of Paris cast material is messier to use and takes more time to harden, making
your doctor visit longer – Who wants that?!
Additional Information If Needed: Technical Background
 Here is a site that describes the old Plaster of Paris method of casting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthopedic_cast
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Experiment 7 – Soothing the Pain with Hot and Cold Compresses
Presenter’s Guide
Experiment 7: Soothing the Pain with Hot and Cold Compresses:
First Aid Station, Cont. (Individual Experiment)
Experiment Purpose & General Methodology

The students will obtain an understanding of how doctors treat bruises and sore muscles.

This experiment will be done by each table and should take about 10 minutes to
complete.
Introduce the Experiment
Tell the students the following:

Milli not only broke her finger in the fall, but she‘s bruised her arm as well.

What‘s one of the first things that you might do when you have a minor injury like
Milli‘s bruise? (Put something cold like ice on it.)

But what do you do if you‘re at a water park and there isn‘t any ice around? Chemistry
provides an answer!

Has anyone ever seen or used one of those cold packs that you can keep in a first aid kit
until it is needed? One of the more common types feels like a plastic bag full of pellets.
The pellets are usually a type of salt, called ammonium nitrate, and there is an inner
pouch that contains water. To activate the cold pack, it must be squeezed so that the
inner pouch breaks and releases the water. As the ammonium nitrate pellets dissolve in
the water, they absorb heat from their surroundings (the water… and your skin) and the
cold pack feels cold. And hopefully, your bruise feels better!

A chemical reaction or a physical process that absorbs energy from its surroundings is
called endothermic.

Tell the students that we will create an endothermic reaction to make our own cold pack.

Then we‘ll do the opposite. We‘ll create a hot pack in case the doctor wants us to use
that.
Perform Experiment Simultaneously with the Students
Part I – Endothermic Reaction/Cold Pack
Do the following, leading the students:

Have each student locate their plastic bags containing water and have the students feel
and describe the temperature of the water – it should be room-temperature or lukewarm.
Note: Our fingers and palms of our hands are not very good at sensing temperature. The
best way to feel the temperature would be to hold the bag against the inside of the wrist
or the back of the hand. Both bags should feel the same since they have reached room
temperature.

Have the students help each other with the following steps: one student carefully opens
the other‘s bag containing water and holds it open.
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Experiment 7 – Soothing the Pain with Hot and Cold Compresses
Presenter’s Guide

Have one student locate the cup marked ―CA‖ (containing citric acid) and measure out
one level teaspoon of the powder then place the contents into the water of the bag his/her
neighbor is holding open. Agitate gently (remember, the bag is open at this point!) to
dissolve and disperse the citric acid.

Have the students use the paper towel at their station to wipe off the teaspoon before
placing it into another chemical to prevent contamination. (also reactions).

Warn the students not to get startled during the next step. Hold the bag steady. Have a
student locate the cup marked ―B‖ (containing baking soda) and measure out one rounded
teaspoon of the powder then place the contents into the citric acid solution in the open
bag. An immediate reaction, bubbling (due to the formation of a gas, CO2) will occur!

Keep the reaction bag open (unsealed) until the bubbling stops, then carefully seal the
bag and place it in the empty bag marked ―C‖ to help guard against leaks. Have the
students examine their bags and feel that the water in the bag has gotten cooler! Note:
Use the back of the hand or inside of the wrist like before.

Tell the students to now trade and do the same for their neighbor.

Have the students use the paper towel at their station to wipe off the teaspoon once again
before the next experiment.
Conclusions for Endothermic Reaction/Cold Pack
Tell the students the following:
 The chemical reaction between citric acid and baking soda is an acid-base chemical reaction.
Carbon dioxide is the gas that is given off.
 We know that the reaction is endothermic (it uses up heat to occur) because we felt the
reaction solution get colder. The reaction absorbs heat from its surroundings (the water and our
skin), so it feels cold.
Introduction for Part II – Hot Pack
Tell the students the following:
 Many times, after the initial pain and swelling of an injury subsides, a doctor tells you to put
heat on an injury to help it heal.
 How do you put heat on an injury? You could use an electric heating pad or a hot water
bottle, but those require access to electricity or hot water, and you‘re at a water park. Again,
chemistry can provide another solution in the form of portable heating packs!
 There are various kinds of chemical heating packs, ranging from supersaturated solutions of a
salt called sodium acetate that give off heat as the salt crystallizes, to the chemical reaction of
iron rusting, to pellets of calcium chloride that give off heat as they dissolve in water.
 A chemical reaction or a physical process that gives off energy to its surroundings is called
exothermic.
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Experiment 7 – Soothing the Pain with Hot and Cold Compresses
Presenter’s Guide
 Later on, when Milli gets home, she may want to use a heating pack on her arm to help the
pain subside, so she might buy one at a pharmacy. While we cannot make one here as good as
the ones we can buy at the store, we will use other items to create an exothermic reaction to
make our own hot pack.
Part II – Exothermic Reaction/Hot Pack
Do the following, leading the students:
 Have the students locate their other plastic bag containing water and have the students feel
and describe the temperature of the water – it should be room-temperature or lukewarm.
 As in the previous experiment, have a student carefully open the bag.
 Have a second student locate the cup marked ―CC‖ (containing calcium chloride) and
measure out one teaspoon of the powder then place the contents into the water in the open bag.
 Carefully seal the bag and place it in his/her neighbor‘s empty bag marked ―H‖ to help guard
against leaks. Gently agitate the bag to disperse the calcium chloride pellets.
 Have the students examine their bags to feel that the water in the bag has gotten warmer!
 Tel the students to now do the same for their helpful neighbor.
Note: The calcium chloride pellets can get very warm! Do not let students squeeze the pellets
that have not fully dissolved.
Conclusions for Endothermic Reaction/Cold Pack
Tell the students the following:
 In our hot pack, the calcium chloride gives off heat as it dissolves in the water. This is a
physical process, not a chemical reaction.
 We know that the process is exothermic (it gives off heat when it occurs) because we felt the
reaction solution get warmer. The process gives off heat to its surroundings (the water and our
skin), so it feels warm.
Additional Information If Needed: Technical Background
 The chemical reaction for our cold pack is:
H3C6H5O7 (aq) + 3 NaHCO3 (s)  3 CO2 (g) + 3 H2O (l) + NaC6H5O7 (aq)
 The dissolution equation of our hot pack is:
CaCl2 (s)  Ca2+ (aq) + 2 Cl- (aq)
Each gram of CaCl2 that dissolves releases 160 cal into the water.
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Return to Experiment 1
Presenter’s Guide
Return to Experiment 1
Before closing the session, ask the students to observe the results of Experiment 1.
Conclusions
Ask the students the following:

What‘s happened? By this time all of the ―Dirty Water‖ should have percolated through
the filtration system so there should be clear liquid in the lower reservoir.

Ask one of the students at each table to remove the top section of their filtration systems
and put it in your large garbage bag. Tel them not to tip the bottom section over but to
examine the water carefully. It should be clear. What happened to the suspended solids?
Ans: they were trapped primarily in the sand filters.

Then ask the student to smell the water—being careful to use the chemist‘s tried and true
methods for smelling such a sample. [We ―waft‖ the sample by moving our hands over
the container toward yourself. DO NOT stick your nose into the sample.] Are there any
odors present? Ans: there shouldn‘t be. Why not? Ans: the activated carbon has
removed the odors. You may want to briefly discuss the mechanism of adsorption and
explain where the odors went.

Now ask the students what might still be in the water. Ans: Not much. If anything,
some soluble salts. If there had been sugar in the cocoa, this would be still be present.
These latter are ―dissolved solids‖ and the filtration system wouldn‘t normally remove
such materials.

How would these ―dissolved solids‖ be removed? Ans: if the material is organic like
sugar would have been, the way it‘s done in municipal wastewater treatment plants is by
utilizing bacteria which use these ―dissolved solids‖ for their food.

Tell the students that any dissolved solids left behind would cause the water to be
seriously polluted even though you can‘t see the pollution. That‘s why it‘s never a good
idea to taste water that doesn‘t come from a tap or a bottled water source.

Tell the students that we‘ve demonstrated how water can be cleaned of suspended solids
and odors. Their own drinking water treatment plants do exactly the same things.
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Closing Session
Presenter’s Guide
Closing Session
Close the Program:
 Finish the Story: Say: ―I hope you enjoyed our adventures at the water park with our friends
Milli and Avogadro.‖
 Distribute the Students‘ Feedback Form and give the children 5 minutes or so to complete
them.
 Remind the students to check our website for information on how to participate in our
Chemistry and Poster Contests where each student receives a small token for entering and can
win local and national cash prizes. They should also be able to find us by searching under
―Cleveland‖ and ―National Chemistry Week‖.
 Thank the students and parents for coming to this year‘s demonstration and learning about
science and chemistry.
 Remind the students to share our experiments with their family and friends. To the students
say ―I‘m sorry but due to some of the chemicals we used, and the great fun mess we‘ve
made (say this to keep it light-hearted) we cannot take our experiments home with us except
for the bracelet with the ultraviolet detecting beads. We also have a fun handout and a list
of books you can get from the library relating to today‘s study of water.
 Have students come up to the closing area to turn in their Feedback Forms, their goggles, and
pick up their take-home sheet. Put the Feedback Forms into one of the manila envelopes
provided for return to Julia Boxler at the main library. Put the goggles back into their box and
also return these to Julia.
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Clean-up Procedures
Presenter’s Guide
1.
CLEAN UP FOR LIQUIDS:

Add a few cups of water to the bucket to prepare for dilution of our chemicals.

Then pour all other excess liquids into your bucket. Then pour into a toilet and flush.
2.
3.
GENERAL CLEAN UP PROCEDURES FOR EXPERIMENTS

All solid waste can be placed into a regular trash bag.

Check with the librarian if they are willing to take the trash; otherwise, please dispose of
it with your own trash.
PLEASE FILL IN AND RETURN THE FEEDBACK FORM
 We need this information to write the reports required by ACS National and industrial
donators of supplies.
USE ENVELOPES PROVIDED labeled ―Julia Boxler YTH‖ (via inter-library mail):
 Into one of the envelopes place:

Signed photo permission forms w/ a description of the photo to which it belongs

Completed Feedback form

Unused teaspoons, pipets, etc (non-crushable items).

NO VIALS OF SOLUTIONS PLEASE
 Into one of the gallon sized baggies (squeezing out the excess air) and then into the
second envelope place:
 USED Vials--rinsed well. Please cap and wipe the outside of the vial before
placing in the envelope. Remove air from the bag before sealing it to reduce
volume and be sure it is sealed.
1.
GOGGLES:

If you are performing another demonstration for this year‘s National Chemistry Week,
sanitize the goggles between demonstrations with a dilute bleach solution as instructed
in the written directions found on the inside cover of the goggle container. Be sure to
dry them with soft cloth or soft paper towels to prevent scratching. Please stack them
into their box without twisting or crushing!

If you are finished performing your demonstration(s) for this year, place the used
goggles into their box. Please stack them without twisting or crushing! (There is no
need to clean them when you are through; our committee will clean them for the next
year and/or for other programs.)
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Clean-up Procedures
Presenter’s Guide
2.
7.
LASTLY AT THE LIBRARY

Return items borrowed from the library.

Give any leftover literature to the librarian. (You may save a copy for yourself though!)

Give the mailing envelope (containing saved supplies and feedback form) as well as the
box of goggles to the Children‘s librarian with instructions to put it them in the
interlibrary mail to Julia Boxler - YTH. (Or take to your nearest CCPL library, as
instructed at the start of this script).
AT HOME:

If you didn‘t return a completed hardcopy of the feedback form please email to Bob
Fowler at fowler@en.com., and he‘ll send you an electronic version to complete.

If you took any photos to share, and have submitted signed permission forms to use
them, email the photos to Bob Fowler fowler@en.com or Natalie Zarlenga at
(KARSTNK@kellyservices.com. Please be kind to our in-boxes and do not send
multiple large files all in one email.

Smile! You may have expanded or even sparked scientific interest in a student today!
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
THANK YOU!
…for your participation in our program this year.
We hope you will join us next year too. Planning of experiments and contests starts in late April.
You don‘t have to be a teacher or scientist to join our Planning Committee; all you need is a
desire to share science with students. Development of ideas and refinement of experiments goes
on throughout the summer (a couple of hours every other week), donation gathering and
shopping is in late summer, and kit assembly (about 50 of them! needing a lot of volunteer
hands) is on a Saturday in late September. It takes many, many volunteers to develop and put on
all our programs. Even a little bit of help goes a long way. Contact us this year or next year if
you (or a friend of yours) want to join in on the preparations!
Thanks again!!!
Bob Fowler (fowler@en.com)
Natalie Zarlenga (KARSTNK@kellyservices.com)
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Appendix
Presenter’s Guide
Appendix
A. Material Safety Data Sheets
MSDS sheets for all materials used in this year‘s program may be found on our web site at
http://www.csuohio.edu/sciences/dept/cleveland_acs/NCW/ or from the sources listed below:
3M Scotchcast™ Plus synthetic Casting tape
http://www.mooremedical.com/downloads/65148.pdf
All of these items are available at your local drug store or hardware/poet stores:
Activated Charcoal (for filtering water in fish tanks)
http://www.flinnsci.com/Documents/MSDS/C/Charcoal.pdf
Calcium Chloride (used for melting ice)
http://www.flinnsci.com/Documents/MSDS/C/CalciumChloride.pdf
Citric Acid (used for baking/candy making)
http://www.flinnsci.com/Documents/MSDS/C/CitricAcid.pdf
Epsom Salts (used for soothing baths)
http://www.flinnsci.com/Documents/MSDS/M/MagnesiumSulfate.pdf
B.
Supply list for recreating these experiments including item substitutions
Material resources for reproducing the experiments for items not found in your local
grocery/drug/hardware store:
Exp. 2: UV coloring changing beads
www.teachersource.com
Exp. 6: 3M Scotchcast™ Plus Casting Tape: www.Mooremedical.com
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